35% of homes are second homes, a share 96% of compared French towns don’t reach
Residents aged 15 to 24: 7.5%, below 95% of compared French towns. In Valbonnais, 4% of households are single parents. Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. This Isère town had 520 residents in 250 households at the 2023 census.
Throughout this page, the Isère median and the France median are the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
What stands out about the people of Valbonnais
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 150 second homes and occasional dwellings in Valbonnais, 35% of its 440 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 93% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Valbonnais’ residents are under 52.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 10% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Fewer flats than 90% of compared French towns: 8.1%
Every home the census counted: main residences, second homes and occasional dwellings (INSEE counts them together), and empty homes. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
All homes · share of homes
Type of home
Cars per household · share of households
One household in 12 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. For flats, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%. Across Valbonnais, nearly one in ten households rent social housing (HLM). Households without a car are rarer here than in 63% of compared French towns.
Slower than most: +2% since 2012, behind 62% of compared French towns
Residents at INSEE’s last three censuses, each recast in the 2026 commune boundaries. France has no yearly estimate by commune between censuses.
2012 to 2023
2017 to 2023
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −3%, and from 2017 to 2023 +5%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Isère town +7%.
Valbonnais is older than 90% of compared French towns: a median age of 52.3
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Valbonnais 52.3. The median compared French town: 44.
31% of residents are 65 or over (typical compared French town: 22%).
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
In Valbonnais, 18% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 83% of compared French towns
A household is everyone who shares a main home (résidence principale). Household types come from INSEE’s fuller sample of a quarter of census forms.
Against the Isère median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2 people on average. On average, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town, against 34% in Valbonnais.
A typical living standard of €24,690 a year
The standard of living (niveau de vie) is a household’s disposable income after taxes and benefits, divided by its consumption units (UC) to allow for its size and make-up: 1 for the first adult, 0.5 for each other person 14 or older, 0.3 for each child under 14.
Medians of compared communes. Source: INSEE, Filosofi 2023.
The median standard of living in Valbonnais is €24,690 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 64% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a retired person than 97% of compared French towns: 50%
Households by the socio-professional group (PCS) of their reference person, INSEE’s own categories. Jobs and commuting are on the Work & commute page.
Households by reference person’s group · share of households
Against a figure of 14% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker in Valbonnais comes in at 16%. For households headed by a retired person, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 2%, a lower share than 92% of compared French towns
INSEE publishes two measures, which overlap but aren’t the same. Neither is the UK’s “born abroad”.
Share of residents · census 2023
Immigrant (immigré)
Born abroad, not French at birth. Someone stays an immigrant after becoming French. A French citizen born abroad (for example in Algeria before 1962) is not one.
Foreign national (étranger)
Not a French citizen today, wherever born. A child born in France to foreign parents can be a foreign national without being an immigrant.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Valbonnais has 1.2%. The comparison figure for immigrants is 6.5% in the typical compared French town.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A lower share of single residents than 98% of compared French towns, at 18%
Residents 15 and over by how they live: the census asks both the legal status and whether people live as a couple.
Residents 15 and over · share
The share of married residents is 52%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. Typically, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 71% of compared French towns, at 24%
Highest diploma of residents 15 and over who have left education, in French terms: the levels don’t map one-to-one to UK or U.S. ones.
Highest diploma · 15 and over, out of education
Put another way, about one in five: a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification. On average, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 8th oldest of 41 French towns of 520 to 2,582 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Around Valbonnais, 1 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valbonnais | 52.3 | 31% | 35% | 2% |
| La Mure 4,963 · 5.9 mi | 49.5 | 30% | 5.1% | 8.2% |
| Le Bourg-d'Oisans 2,617 · 12.7 mi | 52.4 | 28% | 32% | 5.4% |
| Saint-Georges-de-Commiers 2,699 · 13.8 mi | 43 | 21% | 1.5% | 4% |
| Vizille 7,292 · 13.9 mi | 44 | 23% | 2.4% | 8% |
| Champ-sur-Drac 3,335 · 15.1 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 1.2% | 6.1% |
| Vif 8,530 · 15.6 mi | 44.2 | 20% | 1.5% | 5.1% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Census 2023. INSEE’s census is a rolling survey: a fifth of small communes each year, 8% of homes in large ones each year. “2023” pools the surveys of 2021 to 2025, so the figures describe the town around 2023, not on one day.
- Medians of compared communes. The comparisons are the median of the département’s compared communes and of France’s (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median: not the total for the département or for France, which large cities pull towards their own figures.
- Immigrants and foreign nationals. INSEE’s two measures: an immigrant was born abroad without French nationality; a foreign national isn’t French today. Neither is a count of people born abroad, which INSEE doesn’t publish by commune.
- Second homes. Homes used for holidays or weekends, with occasional dwellings (kept for work, for example), which INSEE counts together. Their owners are counted where they live, not here.
- Standard of living. INSEE’s Filosofi: disposable income per consumption unit, from tax and benefit files, 2023. The poverty rate is the share of residents below 60% of France’s median. Not published for the smallest communes.
- What France doesn’t ask. The French census asks nothing about ethnicity, religion, language or health, so this page has no such section.
Questions about who lives in Valbonnais
What is the population of Valbonnais?
520 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (511).
How old are Valbonnais’ residents?
The median age is 52.3, older than 90% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Valbonnais?
150, with occasional dwellings: 35% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Valbonnais?
INSEE counts 10 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (1.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Valbonnais?
€24,690 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970). Source: INSEE, Filosofi.
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, ages, households, homes, marital status, diplomas, immigrants, foreign nationals, employment), 2026 geography · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (standard of living, poverty) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 9, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.